United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States, for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. The charges...

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Alvaro Vivero Rendon was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $20 million. Vivero pleaded...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Results of the first 60-days of the federal Violence Prevention and Elimination Response (VIPER) Initiative were announced today. VIPER sought to address the dramatic increase in gun violence in the City of Buffalo during the first half of 2021. The initial 60-day period of VIPER covered the...

HOUSTON – Two alleged members of one of the most serious transnational criminal organizations will make their initial appearances in U.S. federal court on charges of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia. This is the first time believed members of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación...

DALLAS – A Colombian man was sentenced to nearly three decades in federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Manuel Camilo Renteria Lemus, 37, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2020, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribution of cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States. Lemus was sentenced to...

Baltimore, MD – A 16-month investigation by the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force into drug dealing in Baltimore has led to eleven alleged wholesale drug suppliers being charged in a federal indictment for conspiracy, drug distribution, and firearms charges. The indictment was returned under seal on July 29, 2021, and was...

RICHMOND, Va., – A Guatemalan national was sentenced today to 17 and a half years in prison for his role as a transportation manager in a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO). According to court documents, between 2015 and 2016, Edi Barrera-Salguero, 46, conspired to distribute thousands of kilograms or...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., – The ringleader behind an extensive drug trafficking ring was sentenced today to 33 years in prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Newport News and North Carolina. According to court documents, Ramiro Ramirez-Barreto, 44, from the Mexican State of Morelos, operated a...

DALLAS – A Honduran man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Oscar Ruiz Colon, 41, pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing it would be...

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Toby C. Taylor, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Acting Union County Prosecutor...